In his latest column, Nicholas Kristof once again applies his single master truth of human experience: equivalence. I don’t mean to sound mean: Kristof rightly and bravely emphasizes how little we are willing to do to help the victims of atrocities in Africa and other parts of the developing world, whereas the victims of equivalent [...]
Archive for the ‘faith’ Category
Nicholas Kristof and the Gospel of Mark
Posted in culture, faith, ideas, tagged Christianity, New York Times, Nicholas Kristof, the Gospel of Mark on April 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Christianity and Liberalism (postscript)
Posted in culture, faith, tagged Christianity, liberalism, postmodernism, Richard Neuhaus on January 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Perhaps our moment in American history is leading Christians to recognize that while they can and should continue to engage a more general public culture, and to participate in it in various ways (helping people, laughing with people, enjoying the company of others in diverse settings), I think that it is no longer wise to [...]
Liberalism and Christianity in America: The Curse of Clarity
Posted in culture, faith, ideas, tagged American politics, Charles Péguy, Christianity, Damon Linker, liberalism, Richard Neuhaus, Ross Douthat on January 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Amidst all the comment surrounding the death of Father Neuhaus, Damon Linker, responding to Ross Douthat, raises the most important politico-theological question of the moment, one that will last far longer than the more obvious immediate questions about whether Neuhaus went way too far in the direction of arguing that a serious Christian is morally [...]
Father Neuhaus
Posted in culture, faith, ideas on January 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There have been several reports indicating that Richard John Neuhaus is not long for this world. His illness brings into focus the remarkable trajectory of his life, from his friendship with Martin Luther King and furious opposition to the Vietnam War to his at times pugnacious neo-conservative work at First Things. At his best, Father [...]
Traditionalism vs. Technology
Posted in culture, faith, ideas, tagged Patrick Deneen, postmodernism, Rod Dreher, technology, tradition on January 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve read quite a bit of Patrick Deneen’s work, and I admire it for its bracing clarity. He rightly takes aim at the roots of the modern technological project and its call to “conquer nature” (Bacon) or for humans to become “masters and proprietors of nature” (Descartes, though similar sentiments can be found in Hobbes [...]
Spelt from Homais’ leaves: Bobo edition
Posted in culture, faith, ideas, politics on January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Many wonderful days in New York with friends and family concluded the old and began the new year with happiness. A happy new year to you!
If any cloud darkened the horizon in my days here, it has been the realization that at least among educated professionals, the culture wars have not died with the election [...]
The Party of Life
Posted in culture, faith, politics, tagged American politics, Christianity, Left and Right, pro-life on July 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The following argues, in as non-partisan a fashion as I can, for Christians to leave behind the designations of Christian ‘Right” and Christian “Left.” Why? Read on…
As we approach the next national election, Christians will encounter throngs of pundits on page and screen urging them to support a political party. With those appeals, we [...]
Christian Converts (from Islam) in France
Posted in Europe, culture, faith, tagged Christians, conversion, France, Muslims on April 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A fascinating article in Le Monde discusses the situation of Muslims who convert to Christianity in France. The numbers are small but not negligible (i.e., some Catholic dioceses report about a dozen a year, and there are evangelical converts as well). The initial reasons for exploring conversion are interesting– [...]
Why Catholics Leave the Church
Posted in culture, faith on February 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
A lot has been said about the recent Pew study that concludes that 10% of the American population is ex-Catholic. It sounds discouraging for Catholics, and in fact it is–though it should be added that last year, Catholicism grew at a more rapid rate than any other religion in America (and tens of thousands convert every [...]
